Being Dutch Canadian, and being surrounded by photographers (my sister, my partner, and several of my closest friends make their livelihoods and satiate their creative passions through the lens), I found this photo slide show in the New York Times Magazine particularly endearing.
The photographs mimic the paintings of the Dutch Masters (think Vermeer and Rembrant) and celebrate the 400th anniversary of the Dutch claim to New Netherland - with its capital of New Amsterdam — on the wilderness island of Manhattan.
The slide show displays highlights from the exhibit “Dutch Seen: New York Rediscovered,” which runs to Sept. 13 at the Museum of the City of New York. The exhibit is a collaboration with Foam, the photography museum in Amsterdam, and is curated by Kathy Ryan, photo editor of The New York Times Magazine.
Reminder: we have a NYC basement apartment in the East Village for rent later in the summer if you are planning on spending some time in that city...
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Slumdog Millionaire Blues
I knew I was going to have a difficult time enjoying Slumdog Millionaire. I avoided it until everyone in the world saw it. Finally I watched it and found it somewhat enjoyable - but not oscar-worthy. It was a frothy production. Not the kind of slum realism that City of God evoked. What I disliked the most was the false sense of philanthropy it produced in everyone and the accolades the producers received for creating that sense of philanthropy.
Now two of the child stars have had their slum-homes bulldozed despite producers promises to get those kids out of the slums... I wasn't surprised. As my friend Greg put it, "I love the irony of this story, it underscores my cynical view of the hollywood hype machine."
Hey, I don't want to be a Debbie-Downer... I want to live in la-la land just like everyone else. It's a super gorgeous, hot cloudless day out - I'm off to buy a child-labour Made in India cotton sun-dress and enjoy the rest of my afternoon... sigh.
(If you were somewhat annoyed by the gushing success of Slumdog Millionaire, you may enjoy this spoof.)
Update June 10, 2009:
I am happy and relieved to read this new development, that a home has been secured for one of the child stars and a second home will be purchased for the other child star:
http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/entertainment/2009/06/10/D98NOVTG0_as_india_slumdog/
Now two of the child stars have had their slum-homes bulldozed despite producers promises to get those kids out of the slums... I wasn't surprised. As my friend Greg put it, "I love the irony of this story, it underscores my cynical view of the hollywood hype machine."
Hey, I don't want to be a Debbie-Downer... I want to live in la-la land just like everyone else. It's a super gorgeous, hot cloudless day out - I'm off to buy a child-labour Made in India cotton sun-dress and enjoy the rest of my afternoon... sigh.
(If you were somewhat annoyed by the gushing success of Slumdog Millionaire, you may enjoy this spoof.)
Update June 10, 2009:
I am happy and relieved to read this new development, that a home has been secured for one of the child stars and a second home will be purchased for the other child star:
http://www.salon.com/wires/ap/entertainment/2009/06/10/D98NOVTG0_as_india_slumdog/
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Photojournalists & Documentary Filmmakers in Contrast
You might think that they are the same people: photojournalists and documentary filmmakers both use images to uncover and tell the human experience. But they are not the same. Just as German Shepherds differ from Bloodhounds – they may be the same species, but they ain’t the same breed.
After five days of bouncing between films and panel discussions at Hot Docs, my butt landed at a CONTACT interactive photo exhibit led by Magnum photographers. Just looking around the room, the differences between the two breeds began to contrast in my mind.
First of all, the location of the Magnum event was the Drake Underground – the basement event space at Toronto’s uber-hip and boutique Drake Hotel. Conversely, the location of the Hot Docs industry events were held at the Harry Potter-like antiquated buildings of the University of Toronto’s Victoria College. The chow of one dog was steak frites. the tender vittles of the other a greasy shawarma.
I was tired when I sat down. I was happy to have a pint of beer in my hand and sipping I thought: “this is the way to watch a screening.” The lights were dim and soft music played. As with Hot Docs audience, there was a buzz of excitement from the crowd. Here going to speak and exhibit were some of the world’s best photographers. Like a Hot Docs screening, every last seat was taken, and some agreed to standing room only.
As I sat there, waiting for my partner to arrive, I looked around me. What makes these two breeds different? Don’t they essentially work on the same material? For instance: kids as young as nine escaping Honduras by train to get to the United States for a “better” life; Haitians escaping their tumultuous nation by leaky home-made boat also aiming for a better life in the U.S. Who documented what? And would if matter if I told you? They do the same work I tell you.
But boy do they look and act different.
Photographers dress mainly in black. Their style is minimalist and functional but they exhibit something punk-rock – a leather cuff bracelet, heavy black boots, a stylish haircut. Documentary filmmakers’ garb is made up of one-of-a-kinds – at least the women. The men are just about the most un-sexiest bunch of professors and rumpled geeks you have ever seen. Photographers strike me as arrogant, selfish and pig-headed. Documentary makers are unfailingly socially-minded – but sometimes cross the line into self-righteousness. Ultimately, though, both are compassionate types prone to bluster because of the injustices in the world that provoke them so deeply they cannot live without recording them.
I can say this because I live and work with both of these breeds (my partner is on the Gardiner Expressway covering a major Tamil protest as I write.) They are part of my day-in-day-out. But of course, these are my own observations and I feel a little guilty to assume as I watch the slide shows and listen to the commentary. What finally confirms my conjectures is the photographers’ commentary: each of them (Peter Marlow, Christopher Anderson and David Allen Harvey) said “I do these stories to understand them for myself.” Which is intrinsically different than the documentary filmmaker, whose constant focus is getting the message out to the masses.
I’m not saying that their sentiments and approaches aren’t shared – I am certain that they are – but there are marked differences between the two and I think I have figured it out: both are harbingers yet one is a maverick while the other is a pilot.
After five days of bouncing between films and panel discussions at Hot Docs, my butt landed at a CONTACT interactive photo exhibit led by Magnum photographers. Just looking around the room, the differences between the two breeds began to contrast in my mind.
First of all, the location of the Magnum event was the Drake Underground – the basement event space at Toronto’s uber-hip and boutique Drake Hotel. Conversely, the location of the Hot Docs industry events were held at the Harry Potter-like antiquated buildings of the University of Toronto’s Victoria College. The chow of one dog was steak frites. the tender vittles of the other a greasy shawarma.
I was tired when I sat down. I was happy to have a pint of beer in my hand and sipping I thought: “this is the way to watch a screening.” The lights were dim and soft music played. As with Hot Docs audience, there was a buzz of excitement from the crowd. Here going to speak and exhibit were some of the world’s best photographers. Like a Hot Docs screening, every last seat was taken, and some agreed to standing room only.
As I sat there, waiting for my partner to arrive, I looked around me. What makes these two breeds different? Don’t they essentially work on the same material? For instance: kids as young as nine escaping Honduras by train to get to the United States for a “better” life; Haitians escaping their tumultuous nation by leaky home-made boat also aiming for a better life in the U.S. Who documented what? And would if matter if I told you? They do the same work I tell you.
But boy do they look and act different.
Photographers dress mainly in black. Their style is minimalist and functional but they exhibit something punk-rock – a leather cuff bracelet, heavy black boots, a stylish haircut. Documentary filmmakers’ garb is made up of one-of-a-kinds – at least the women. The men are just about the most un-sexiest bunch of professors and rumpled geeks you have ever seen. Photographers strike me as arrogant, selfish and pig-headed. Documentary makers are unfailingly socially-minded – but sometimes cross the line into self-righteousness. Ultimately, though, both are compassionate types prone to bluster because of the injustices in the world that provoke them so deeply they cannot live without recording them.
I can say this because I live and work with both of these breeds (my partner is on the Gardiner Expressway covering a major Tamil protest as I write.) They are part of my day-in-day-out. But of course, these are my own observations and I feel a little guilty to assume as I watch the slide shows and listen to the commentary. What finally confirms my conjectures is the photographers’ commentary: each of them (Peter Marlow, Christopher Anderson and David Allen Harvey) said “I do these stories to understand them for myself.” Which is intrinsically different than the documentary filmmaker, whose constant focus is getting the message out to the masses.
I’m not saying that their sentiments and approaches aren’t shared – I am certain that they are – but there are marked differences between the two and I think I have figured it out: both are harbingers yet one is a maverick while the other is a pilot.
Friday, April 24, 2009
A Lame Shopping Experience in Toronto
At first I thought I was missing out - some (unkown-to-me) fashion designer Matthew Williamson partnered up with H&M and there was an grand opening at the Eaton Centre... people lined up since 4am to buy. What happened was a mindless grab-anything frenzy and demonstrated yet again that people who blindly follow trends do NOT have style.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Gitel Salle 1024
Why has it taken me this long to promote my aunt and uncle's gorgeous Gitel in the Belgian Ardennes? Especially since I helped my father translate their website last year?
Maybe it's because I would love to visit the place... but it's uniquely designed for a group. This makes my head spin with ideas - an anniversary party? A retirement party? A girls-reunion?
The facilities are state of the art, fully "wired" for meetings....
... down duvets for comfy sleeps...
... fresh towels...
... healthy fresh air...
... and outdoor barbeque facilities (visit the website for more infomation about rates and activities.)It's enough to get me dreaming up any excuse to get me and a group out to the lovely Belgian Ardennes!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Collecting My Thoughts in a Moleskine
Readying for work today I was an anxious mess - first of all, I had just had an epiphany about the relationship with my partner - a huge, huge enlightenment into his character and my understanding of it. A joyous moment. Love. I had started to write notes in my script workbook and then realized I was late for work. Again. So I put down my notebook mid-thought. Painful
Anyway. Also running through my mind was this morning's CBC staff and programming cuts "town hall meeting" that would be led by president and CEO Hubert Lacroix on closed-circuit TV to all CBC staff at 11:45 am. Ominous cloud.
Beyond that, it came to me that it might be useful to finally read that book on Jungian literary theory that I had picked up at a second-hand bookstore in Picton two years ago. That it may help me understand the motivation of my characters in the screenplay that I am writing. One of my fellow screenwriting group members, a Canadian Film Centre grad, confided that she was reading books on psychology for exactly that reason.
Once in the CBC building, I saw notices on the bulletin board about tax returns. Is it really that time of year?? *#$^%balls!
Which reminded me that I'd better check and see if I had any overdue bills to pay. Which reminded me that I should also add and remove some people to/from my Rogers My-5 plan. Which reminded me that I am supposed to buy a new SIM card so that I can switch from my Razr to Joe's old iPhone... ...
By the time I sat at my desk the only thing I could think of was: I need to ask Joe to give me one of those slim little Moleskine notebooks that my mother gave him for Christmas. And what do I do out of habit? I Google "Hemingway's notebook" (because I couldn't remember the word "Moleskine") and come across this INCREDIBLE blog about Moleskine notebooks!!
Now if only I had that notebook... I'm sure I forgot as many important things as I managed to get down in this blog post!
(image via Palin's Travels.)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Bill Cunningham Is One of My Faves
I just adore visiting Bill Cunningham's "On The Street" NYC slide shows. I love the street fashion, I love the women and men he captures, I love the joy in his soft, squeak-gravelly voice. According to Lauren Collins in a recent New Yorker magazine article, Cunningham's "vocabulary and diction are those of a more genteel era, but his sensibility is exhilaratingly democratic."
I visit Bill's slide-shows every week, and when I miss him, I visit the archives because his slide shows guarantee to bring colour and fun into a day.
I visit Bill's slide-shows every week, and when I miss him, I visit the archives because his slide shows guarantee to bring colour and fun into a day.
What's particularly deliciuos about Bill is that he manages to capture the humanity behind our decisions to wear what we wear. This slide-show is one of my faves, how we cope with massive slush puddles in winter - and how we cope with it in style and as Bill says, "with animation and dance." Boy am I glad those slush puddles are done for the season!
(image via The New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/01/31/fashion/20090131-street-feature/index.html)
Friday, March 06, 2009
Loving This Springtime Outfit
Yes, yes, it's Paris not Toronto, and it's a brunette, not me, but I LOVE this springtime outfit so much it makes me ache. It's so casual, so fresh and fun!
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Elizabeth Gilbert Rescues Me Again
To my sister friends,
I tell you (well, some of you already know) I've been going through some big time growing pains lately and wow, wouldn't you know it, Elizabeth Gilbert shows up in my life exactly when I need her - again!
Last year, I picked up Eat, Pray, Love and devoured it - just as I know you will, or already have. The thing is, I needed that book. I had ended yet another lame, toxic and hurtful relationship and I needed to believe that I was good. On my own. On my own terms. And that my terms were good. That kind of good. I needed to be taught that a woman is forgivable for making mistakes, for loving wrong, and getting lost in loving wrong. But what I really needed to learn is that women are allowed and are required to devote loads and loads of time and creative energy loving ....
... ourselves.
Our lives are full of creativity. And those of us who chose to live creative lives put a lot of our selves on the line every day. A creative life isn't only lived by those few people who make money from art, but those of us who quest and question, who seek and find, who celebrate the small wonders and dare to risk venturing into the unknown. Us creative types, we infuse every action of our days with art. Even our relationships are artistic endeavours - we nurture them and watch them grow and feel such pain and loss when they dry up and fail to thrive.
International Women's Day is a day for celebrating women around the world and our achievements. But I would like to think that it's also a day for celebrating the poet, the chef, the singer and dancer in each of us.
I know my greatest weakness in life: it is that I lack faith in my own success. I doubt the validity and value of my creative life. And just as I have awoken from yet another bad dream this morning, a dream filled with questions that remain so frustratingly unanswered, Elizabeth Gilbert pops into my life again. Today she reminds me, and I hope that she reminds you, that on our artistic journeys through life, we are each and every one of us a vessel for artistic success beyond our comprehension. And that when we do fail (and we do, and we will) we do not have to burden the responsibility alone.
This International Women's Day, please listen to and pass this around: Elizabeth's wonderfully funny, uplifting and inspirational speech about nurturing creativity.
I tell you (well, some of you already know) I've been going through some big time growing pains lately and wow, wouldn't you know it, Elizabeth Gilbert shows up in my life exactly when I need her - again!
Last year, I picked up Eat, Pray, Love and devoured it - just as I know you will, or already have. The thing is, I needed that book. I had ended yet another lame, toxic and hurtful relationship and I needed to believe that I was good. On my own. On my own terms. And that my terms were good. That kind of good. I needed to be taught that a woman is forgivable for making mistakes, for loving wrong, and getting lost in loving wrong. But what I really needed to learn is that women are allowed and are required to devote loads and loads of time and creative energy loving ....
... ourselves.
Our lives are full of creativity. And those of us who chose to live creative lives put a lot of our selves on the line every day. A creative life isn't only lived by those few people who make money from art, but those of us who quest and question, who seek and find, who celebrate the small wonders and dare to risk venturing into the unknown. Us creative types, we infuse every action of our days with art. Even our relationships are artistic endeavours - we nurture them and watch them grow and feel such pain and loss when they dry up and fail to thrive.
International Women's Day is a day for celebrating women around the world and our achievements. But I would like to think that it's also a day for celebrating the poet, the chef, the singer and dancer in each of us.
I know my greatest weakness in life: it is that I lack faith in my own success. I doubt the validity and value of my creative life. And just as I have awoken from yet another bad dream this morning, a dream filled with questions that remain so frustratingly unanswered, Elizabeth Gilbert pops into my life again. Today she reminds me, and I hope that she reminds you, that on our artistic journeys through life, we are each and every one of us a vessel for artistic success beyond our comprehension. And that when we do fail (and we do, and we will) we do not have to burden the responsibility alone.
This International Women's Day, please listen to and pass this around: Elizabeth's wonderfully funny, uplifting and inspirational speech about nurturing creativity.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
How I Managed to Enjoy a Play About Books I Haven't Read
Last night I was gifted a ticket to Travesties, written by Tom Stoppard and produced by the talented Soulpepper theatre troupe in Toronto. I am not much of a theatre fan, but I do tend to enjoy the plays of the literary hard-hitting kind - those of Stoppard, Edward Albee, Tennessee Williams, Arthur Millar, Eugene O'Neill, and David Mamet. I suppose though, upon reflecting on that list, that I have come to these playwrights via the screen (A Streetcar Named Desire and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? are among my favourite films.)
But I digress (as usual.)
Here's the jist of Travesties courtesy of the Soulpepper website:
Three prominent revolutionaries of 20th century art and politics — James Joyce, Vladimir Lenin and Tristan Tzara — come together in the mixed-up memories of a British consular official who blends history, literature and echoes of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. An intoxicating comedy of ideas, Travesties is widely considered to be Stoppard’s most ingenious masterpiece.
Jeez Louise! I have a degree in English Literature and I felt like I needed to read a Coles Notes primer before stepping into the theatre... I had only tried to read Joyce's Ulysses, never craked The Importance of Being Earnest and had no clue as to what Tzara's Dadaism was. Alas, I didn't have time to even scope out the Wikipedia entry on the play!
But I liked the play very much regardless and found myself laughing at times, though I was also left listening to a laughing audience at others.
Which reminded me of this book I haven't yet read but want to, and will pretend that I am knowledgeable about: "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read." I wish I had read how to talk about books I haven't read so that I could watch a play about books I haven't read and pretend to understand it so that I could talk about it (and the books it was about) after I'd watched it!
Then today, I saw that a friend on Facebook had posted the BBC Top 100 Books list. She had read 26 of them. I sighed before taking a look at the list myself - after last night I wondered why I ever took a degree in English! Thankfully, I've read (or partially read and can therefore talk about) 33 of them. And I plan to read (or partially read) 33 more - to keep the conversation going!
Here's the list if you're interested in determining your own literary chops!
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien x
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen x
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling x
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee x
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne x
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë x
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë x
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier x
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger x
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens x
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell x
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling x
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling x
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling x
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien x
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot x
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving x
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck x
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll x
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl x
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen x
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery x
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald x
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy x
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck x
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens x
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough x
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles x
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding x
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding x
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce x
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac x
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie x
But I digress (as usual.)
Here's the jist of Travesties courtesy of the Soulpepper website:
Three prominent revolutionaries of 20th century art and politics — James Joyce, Vladimir Lenin and Tristan Tzara — come together in the mixed-up memories of a British consular official who blends history, literature and echoes of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest. An intoxicating comedy of ideas, Travesties is widely considered to be Stoppard’s most ingenious masterpiece.
Jeez Louise! I have a degree in English Literature and I felt like I needed to read a Coles Notes primer before stepping into the theatre... I had only tried to read Joyce's Ulysses, never craked The Importance of Being Earnest and had no clue as to what Tzara's Dadaism was. Alas, I didn't have time to even scope out the Wikipedia entry on the play!
But I liked the play very much regardless and found myself laughing at times, though I was also left listening to a laughing audience at others.
Which reminded me of this book I haven't yet read but want to, and will pretend that I am knowledgeable about: "How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read." I wish I had read how to talk about books I haven't read so that I could watch a play about books I haven't read and pretend to understand it so that I could talk about it (and the books it was about) after I'd watched it!
Then today, I saw that a friend on Facebook had posted the BBC Top 100 Books list. She had read 26 of them. I sighed before taking a look at the list myself - after last night I wondered why I ever took a degree in English! Thankfully, I've read (or partially read and can therefore talk about) 33 of them. And I plan to read (or partially read) 33 more - to keep the conversation going!
Here's the list if you're interested in determining your own literary chops!
1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien x
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen x
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling x
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee x
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne x
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë x
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë x
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier x
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger x
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens x
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell x
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling x
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling x
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling x
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien x
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot x
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving x
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck x
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll x
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl x
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen x
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery x
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald x
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy x
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck x
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens x
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough x
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles x
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding x
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding x
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce x
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac x
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie x
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
What I Did On My Facebook Vacation!
Father, it’s been six weeks since my last Facebook. And here I am back in the confession booth.
Naw, it’s not a sin or anything, it had simply become an aimless obsession that sucked too much of my time – time that I had forgotten was valuable.
A vacation from Facebook is what I needed to re-direct my energies. Unfortunately, I didn’t visit the tropics, but I did accomplish a few things and took a new journey in my mind.
About a week after quitting Fb I found that that chunk of free time was indeed mine again. It felt like extra cash, like a little lotto influx and I wanted to spend it! - but spend it wisely.
So I decided to pick up where I left off with my Certificate in Magazine Publishing from Ryerson University. I’d dropped out when I got hired at the CBC, but did a little poking and discovered that I have another year or so to complete the program (a relief since I am more than half-way through and have spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on this program.)
The course I selected was by default – the only course offered for Winter 2009: Creating Website Editorial. I never imagined that I would be interested in creating websites – but oddly, I am! Since then I have received an “A” in that course and have re-vamped this old blog and created a new blog called I Heart Docs dedicated to documentary films and television and have been encouraged by several industry folks. It’s been a lot of fun!
I’ve also started to take over the social networking side of CBC Documentaries. According to my teacher at Ryerson, Social Media Managers and Producers are the next wave in cool media jobs – and I’m already on board (you can check out some of my CBC work on Twitter.)
Oddly, that means I HAVE to become a Facebook professional!!!!! So you’ll be seeing a lot more of my face again for better or worse. And I'll be seeing more of yours again which will be lovely.
Oh, I almost forgot! I'm producing trailers for Doc Zone docs that you can view on our website. Here's the latest one for a very interesting doc called "Biodad" about the future of reproductive technology and how that will change our notion of "family."
Naw, it’s not a sin or anything, it had simply become an aimless obsession that sucked too much of my time – time that I had forgotten was valuable.
A vacation from Facebook is what I needed to re-direct my energies. Unfortunately, I didn’t visit the tropics, but I did accomplish a few things and took a new journey in my mind.
About a week after quitting Fb I found that that chunk of free time was indeed mine again. It felt like extra cash, like a little lotto influx and I wanted to spend it! - but spend it wisely.
So I decided to pick up where I left off with my Certificate in Magazine Publishing from Ryerson University. I’d dropped out when I got hired at the CBC, but did a little poking and discovered that I have another year or so to complete the program (a relief since I am more than half-way through and have spent thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on this program.)
The course I selected was by default – the only course offered for Winter 2009: Creating Website Editorial. I never imagined that I would be interested in creating websites – but oddly, I am! Since then I have received an “A” in that course and have re-vamped this old blog and created a new blog called I Heart Docs dedicated to documentary films and television and have been encouraged by several industry folks. It’s been a lot of fun!
I’ve also started to take over the social networking side of CBC Documentaries. According to my teacher at Ryerson, Social Media Managers and Producers are the next wave in cool media jobs – and I’m already on board (you can check out some of my CBC work on Twitter.)
Oddly, that means I HAVE to become a Facebook professional!!!!! So you’ll be seeing a lot more of my face again for better or worse. And I'll be seeing more of yours again which will be lovely.
Oh, I almost forgot! I'm producing trailers for Doc Zone docs that you can view on our website. Here's the latest one for a very interesting doc called "Biodad" about the future of reproductive technology and how that will change our notion of "family."
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
A Sucky Vintage Clothing Sale and a Fab Swap
In these economic times, it is wise to take advantage of any vintage clothing sale and swap you can come across.
I was so psyched last week to attend a vintage clothing sale put on by Studio.to - some organization the purpose of which I couldn't decipher when I visited its site. I was turned on to it through one of my daily Sweetspot.ca messages which generally annoy me lately with their lame recommendations and corporate sponsors, and after this sale, I'm seriously thinking about removing myself from their mailing list.
Regardless, I've been a fan of vintage clothing sales since I was sixteen so I was hopeful. Imagine my disappointment then when I discovered that this crummy "vintage" sale was nothing but an overpriced ragtag collection of crumpled and dusty Value Village left-overs being sold by hyper-thin 20-somethings who consider themselves stylists.
Sigh.
I harkened back to the good old days of when I attended Ottawa's annual vintage clothing sale held at the Chateau Laurier hotel. I discovered that the same organizers are putting on a new show this spring. Check out this site for pictures of what a vintage clothing sale SHOULD look like! If you are in the area, please attend! I will live vicariously through you!
My disappointment was assuaged a few days later when friends Sarah and Heather hosted a clothing swap. About a half dozen women gathered for hummus, hummus and more hummus plus some rosé wine and settled in to action off piles and piles of cast-offs. It's so lovely when something you haven't worn for two years tickles someone else pink! Speaking of pink, I ended up with an oversized mohair fuchia sweater I never in a million years would have bought for myself. I am wearing it today and have already received two compliments. Ummm yummy cheerful sweater on this cold February day!
I was so psyched last week to attend a vintage clothing sale put on by Studio.to - some organization the purpose of which I couldn't decipher when I visited its site. I was turned on to it through one of my daily Sweetspot.ca messages which generally annoy me lately with their lame recommendations and corporate sponsors, and after this sale, I'm seriously thinking about removing myself from their mailing list.
Regardless, I've been a fan of vintage clothing sales since I was sixteen so I was hopeful. Imagine my disappointment then when I discovered that this crummy "vintage" sale was nothing but an overpriced ragtag collection of crumpled and dusty Value Village left-overs being sold by hyper-thin 20-somethings who consider themselves stylists.
Sigh.
I harkened back to the good old days of when I attended Ottawa's annual vintage clothing sale held at the Chateau Laurier hotel. I discovered that the same organizers are putting on a new show this spring. Check out this site for pictures of what a vintage clothing sale SHOULD look like! If you are in the area, please attend! I will live vicariously through you!
My disappointment was assuaged a few days later when friends Sarah and Heather hosted a clothing swap. About a half dozen women gathered for hummus, hummus and more hummus plus some rosé wine and settled in to action off piles and piles of cast-offs. It's so lovely when something you haven't worn for two years tickles someone else pink! Speaking of pink, I ended up with an oversized mohair fuchia sweater I never in a million years would have bought for myself. I am wearing it today and have already received two compliments. Ummm yummy cheerful sweater on this cold February day!
Friday, February 13, 2009
World Press Photo - Photo of the Year 2008
Take a look at the photograph. What is your first reaction to it? Are you trying to place it's location? Are you trying to determine the type of violent confrontation this may be? What kind of destruction has befallen this home?
It is startling to discover it is the photograph, by Anthony Suau for Time, is of an eviction in Cleveland.
The World Press Photo of 2008 depicts what the jury thought to be the most important global issue - the slow collapse of the economy world-wide.
Problem with the photo is, I don't find it to contain enough conflict in the image itself. Without the explanation, it is flat and doesn't elicit a multitude of emotions - just the one of violence. I will have to explore the other winners - perhaps there is one that should have won instead?
It is startling to discover it is the photograph, by Anthony Suau for Time, is of an eviction in Cleveland.
The World Press Photo of 2008 depicts what the jury thought to be the most important global issue - the slow collapse of the economy world-wide.
Problem with the photo is, I don't find it to contain enough conflict in the image itself. Without the explanation, it is flat and doesn't elicit a multitude of emotions - just the one of violence. I will have to explore the other winners - perhaps there is one that should have won instead?
For more information about Suau and World Press Photo, please read this CBC article.
Friday, January 30, 2009
My Blogs 2.0!
Hi y'all! I am excited... check out my new blog dedicated to documentaries!
I've been taking a web editing course at Ryerson U and I have all these exciting new ideas for my blog - like optimizing it for search engines, making it possible for you to subscribe to my RSS feed, creating easy to use video links... so much fun. I'm thinking of even getting back on board with social networking (I got tired of Facebook, but there are other methods); and social boomarking (like Delicious). I want more participation from you!
Joe is also busy in his own internet second life - he's created two private social networking sites, one a photography network he calls ISO459 and the other for our families to share information and updates.
My express goal is to spend more time promoting, critiquing, and celebrating documentary film , so I created a new blog dedicated to that task called I Heart Docs. Stay tuned for more info on this year's Oscar-nominated documentaries.
This blog will remain my main forum for ideas regarding film, street fashion, literature, photography, culture, travel and ideas...!
I've been taking a web editing course at Ryerson U and I have all these exciting new ideas for my blog - like optimizing it for search engines, making it possible for you to subscribe to my RSS feed, creating easy to use video links... so much fun. I'm thinking of even getting back on board with social networking (I got tired of Facebook, but there are other methods); and social boomarking (like Delicious). I want more participation from you!
Joe is also busy in his own internet second life - he's created two private social networking sites, one a photography network he calls ISO459 and the other for our families to share information and updates.
My express goal is to spend more time promoting, critiquing, and celebrating documentary film , so I created a new blog dedicated to that task called I Heart Docs. Stay tuned for more info on this year's Oscar-nominated documentaries.
This blog will remain my main forum for ideas regarding film, street fashion, literature, photography, culture, travel and ideas...!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Ilka's Picks - Fun Stuff to Watch, Read and Listen To
This is the first time I've published a post containing nothing but links. I'm taking a Web Editorial course at Ryerson University right now and my brain is full of websites... creating them, updating them, finding the best bits in the massive slushpile that is the Interweb... My assignments will include repurposing a print magazine article for it's online component; presenting a magazine website that I love (http://www.vanityfair.com/) and later re-vamping a magazine website that could use sexing-up (I don't know which one I'll pick for that assignment though it has to be Canadian.) As I work through the course, and the rest of my Magazine Publishing Program, I will try to update my blog with whom I have been regretfully out of touch of late!
For "Lost" the TV series fans (Yeah! a new season! This is fun while waiting between episodes):
http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/missingpieces/index?pn=index
For those curious about torture (who's not?):
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/video/2008/hitchens_video200808
For lovers of short story (this stuff makes me weak at the knees):
As a story editor, I LOVE seeing the edits!
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/12/24/071224on_onlineonly_carver
But I LOVE Chandler's original version even more:
The UN-edited version of Chandler's story:
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2007/12/24/071224fi_fiction_carver
For global street fashion fans (so fun!!):
http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/http://streetpeeper.com/
For your customized listening pleasure (this radio learns what you like to listen to most):www.last.fm
For understanding the pulse of a nation (those wired, that is):
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist2008/#top
For Nina Simone lovers (I got my boobies!):
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=GUcXI2BIUOQ
For the sheer celebration of humanity (to balance out the torture selection above):
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=qBXr15K2uSc
For "Lost" the TV series fans (Yeah! a new season! This is fun while waiting between episodes):
http://abc.go.com/primetime/lost/missingpieces/index?pn=index
For those curious about torture (who's not?):
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/video/2008/hitchens_video200808
For lovers of short story (this stuff makes me weak at the knees):
As a story editor, I LOVE seeing the edits!
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/12/24/071224on_onlineonly_carver
But I LOVE Chandler's original version even more:
The UN-edited version of Chandler's story:
http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2007/12/24/071224fi_fiction_carver
For global street fashion fans (so fun!!):
http://www.thesartorialist.blogspot.com/http://streetpeeper.com/
For your customized listening pleasure (this radio learns what you like to listen to most):www.last.fm
For understanding the pulse of a nation (those wired, that is):
http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist2008/#top
For Nina Simone lovers (I got my boobies!):
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=GUcXI2BIUOQ
For the sheer celebration of humanity (to balance out the torture selection above):
http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=qBXr15K2uSc
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Jung Personality Test
I tried this test a year ago and it surprises me that I end up with the exact same result today! Apparently I am a compassionate writer type with a tendancy towards counseling - go figure...
As my best friends already know, you can come to me with your problems - they will be heard without judgement and I will help you see the bigger picture.
Here's the questionnaire if you are interested in learning more about yourself:
http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp
My detailed results:
http://keirsey.com/handler.aspx?s=keirsey&f=fourtemps&tab=3&c=counselor
Monday, January 05, 2009
Thursday, September 18, 2008
A Better Democracy
I'm pairing my vote! An exciting way to vote either strategically or with your conscience. You can too - find out how:
http://www.votepair.ca/
http://www.votepair.ca/
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
Don't Mess With a Cranky Darth
While walking through Amsterdam during the last day of my European vacation I decided to film a performance artist since Darth Vadar is one of my neices' favourites... unfortunately, THIS is no Darth to share with four year-olds...
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Motorcycle Maintenance
I have been very much enjoying the thrilling experience of riding on a BMW motorcycle. I had no idea that I could be so afraid and so joyous simultaneously (is this love?)! My father, who was never one to enforce rules on me as a young girl, had one rule when dating boys: never get on the back of a motorcycle.
Yet here I am, riding with Joe as often as I can. He's even got me addicted to The Long Way Around. I'm watching Ewan and Charlie fight the difficulties of traveling through Mongolia and Siberia on motorcycle, and I can't help but wonder: some people are just born ridiculously beautiful, even six weeks into a wild camping adventure - Ewan McGregor is one of them. But then, so is Charlie.
(I know. It's an old show that was produced in 2004... but this is the brilliance of today's TV -- watch what you want when you want. Rent the series on DVD, find it on Surf the Channel or stream on the show's site...)
I love the grounded personalities of these men. Funny how I find them "grounded" when they are traveling around the world on motorcycle leaving their wives and children behind. What does that say about me? Their ups and downs, their desire at times to quit (and that producer David who I wrote off at the beginning as a wank, actually reigned Ewan back in - he's much more of a mother figure than I ever would have imagined), their delight at seeing a black bear for the first time (wait til they get to Alaska!) Oh, it's great fun for me. More than I can even admit to Joe and my father though they will likely read this...
My father, when he met Joe, pulled out his motorcycle for him. And get this! When Joe sat on it, my father took photographs of him! Then he wordlessly allowed me to get on the back of his steed and allowed this new man in his daughter's life to take her off to the wineries of Prince Edward County.
What does that say about my father? About Joe? About all of us? How I will like to know what my father thinks of this TV series.
One more thing: unbelievable how MUCH Siberia looks like British Columbia and how much the truck drivers look like BC loggers. Even Ewan and Charlie become Mountain Men.
I marvel at how small this world can feel sometimes. And at the same time so infinite.
Yet here I am, riding with Joe as often as I can. He's even got me addicted to The Long Way Around. I'm watching Ewan and Charlie fight the difficulties of traveling through Mongolia and Siberia on motorcycle, and I can't help but wonder: some people are just born ridiculously beautiful, even six weeks into a wild camping adventure - Ewan McGregor is one of them. But then, so is Charlie.
(I know. It's an old show that was produced in 2004... but this is the brilliance of today's TV -- watch what you want when you want. Rent the series on DVD, find it on Surf the Channel or stream on the show's site...)
I love the grounded personalities of these men. Funny how I find them "grounded" when they are traveling around the world on motorcycle leaving their wives and children behind. What does that say about me? Their ups and downs, their desire at times to quit (and that producer David who I wrote off at the beginning as a wank, actually reigned Ewan back in - he's much more of a mother figure than I ever would have imagined), their delight at seeing a black bear for the first time (wait til they get to Alaska!) Oh, it's great fun for me. More than I can even admit to Joe and my father though they will likely read this...
My father, when he met Joe, pulled out his motorcycle for him. And get this! When Joe sat on it, my father took photographs of him! Then he wordlessly allowed me to get on the back of his steed and allowed this new man in his daughter's life to take her off to the wineries of Prince Edward County.
What does that say about my father? About Joe? About all of us? How I will like to know what my father thinks of this TV series.
One more thing: unbelievable how MUCH Siberia looks like British Columbia and how much the truck drivers look like BC loggers. Even Ewan and Charlie become Mountain Men.
I marvel at how small this world can feel sometimes. And at the same time so infinite.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
